The Return of Depression Economics and the Crisis of 2008

In this new, greatly updated edition of The Return of Depression Economics, Krugman shows how the failure of regulation to keep pace with an increasingly out-of-control financial system set the United States, and the world as a whole, up for the greatest financial crisis since the 1930s. He also lays out the steps that must be taken to contain the crisis, and turn around a world economy sliding into a deep recession.

The Conscience of a Liberal

America emerged from Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal with strong democratic values and broadly shared prosperity. But for the past 30 years, American politics has been dominated by a conservative movement determined to undermine the New Deal's achievements. Now, the tide may be turning, and in The Conscience of a Liberal Paul Krugman, the world's most widely read economist and one of its most influential political commentators, charts the way to reform.

The top 1 percent of Americans control 40 percent of the nation's wealth. And, as Joseph E. Stiglitz explains, while those at the top enjoy the best health care, education, and benefits of wealth, they fail to realize that "their fate is bound up with how the other 99 percent live." Stiglitz draws on his deep understanding of economics to show that growing inequality is not inevitable. He examines our current state, then teases out its implications for democracy, for monetary and budgetary policy, and for globalization. He closes with a plan for a more just and prosperous future.

The Euro: How a Common Currency Threatens the Future of Europe

In The Euro, Nobel Prize-winning economist and best-selling author Joseph E. Stiglitz dismantles the prevailing consensus around what ails Europe, demolishing the champions of austerity while offering a series of plans that can rescue the continent - and the world - from further devastation. Hailed by its architects as a lever that would bring Europe together and promote prosperity, the euro has done the opposite. As Stiglitz persuasively argues, the crises revealed the shortcomings of the euro.

The Great Divide: Unequal Societies and What We Can Do About Them

In The Great Divide, Joseph E. Stiglitz expands on the diagnosis he offered in his best-selling book The Price of Inequality and suggests ways to counter America's growing problem. With his signature blend of clarity and passion, Stiglitz argues that inequality is a choice - the cumulative result of unjust policies and misguided priorities.

Capital in the Twenty-First Century

What are the grand dynamics that drive the accumulation and distribution of capital? Questions about the long-term evolution of inequality, the concentration of wealth, and the prospects for economic growth lie at the heart of political economy. But satisfactory answers have been hard to find for lack of adequate data and clear guiding theories.

Saving Capitalism: For the Many, Not the Few

In Saving Capitalism, Robert Reich reveals the entrenched cycles of power and influence that have damaged American capitalism, perpetuating a new oligarchy in which the 1 percent get ever richer and the rest - middle and working class alike - lose ever more economic agency, making for the greatest income inequality and wealth disparity since World War II.

The Crash of 2016: The Plot to Destroy America - and What We Can Do to Stop It

The United States is more vulnerable today than ever before - including during the Great Depression and the Civil War - because the pillars of democracy that once supported a booming middle class have been corrupted, and without them, America teeters on the verge of the next Great Crash. The United States is in the midst of an economic implosion that could make the Great Depression look like child's play.

Rewriting the Rules of the American Economy: An Agenda for Growth and Shared Prosperity

The United States bills itself as the land of opportunity, a place where anyone can achieve success and a better life through hard work and determination. But the facts tell a different story - the US today lags behind most other developed nations in measures of inequality and economic mobility. For decades, wages have stagnated for the majority of workers while economic gains have disproportionately gone to the top one percent.

Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity, and Poverty

Brilliant and engagingly written, Why Nations Fail answers the question that has stumped the experts for centuries: Why are some nations rich and others poor, divided by wealth and poverty, health and sickness, food and famine?

America's Bank: The Epic Struggle to Create the Federal Reserve

Until the election of Woodrow Wilson the United States - alone among developed nations - lacked a central bank. Ever since the Revolutionary War, Americans had desperately feared the consequences of centralizing the nation's finances under government control. However, in the aftermath of a disastrous financial panic, Congress was persuaded - by a confluence of populist unrest, widespread mistrust of bankers, ideological divisions, and secretive lobbying - to approve the landmark 1913 Federal Reserve Act.

Creating a Learning Society: A New Approach to Growth, Development, and Social Progress

It has long been recognized that most standard of living increases are associated with advances in technology, not the accumulation of capital. Yet it has also become clear that what truly separates developed from less developed countries is not just a gap in resources or output but a gap in knowledge. In fact the pace at which developing countries grow is largely determined by the pace at which they close that gap. Therefore, how countries learn and become more productive is key to understanding how they grow and develop, especially over the long term.

The Courage to Act: A Memoir of a Crisis and Its Aftermath

In 2006, Ben S. Bernanke was appointed chair of the Federal Reserve, capping a meteoric trajectory from a rural South Carolina childhood to professorships at Stanford and Princeton, to public service in Washington's halls of power. There would be no time to celebrate, however - the burst of the housing bubble in 2007 set off a domino effect that would bring the global financial system to the brink of meltdown.

Who Rules the World?

In an incisive, thorough analysis of the current international situation, Noam Chomsky argues that the United States, through its military-first policies and its unstinting devotion to maintaining a world-spanning empire, is both risking catastrophe and wrecking the global commons.

Jen says:"Makes you realize those who scream conspiracy are closer to the truth than we would hope!"

The Rise and Fall of American Growth: The U.S. Standard of Living Since the Civil War

In the century after the Civil War, an economic revolution improved the American standard of living in ways previously unimaginable. Electric lighting, indoor plumbing, home appliances, motor vehicles, air travel, air conditioning, and television transformed households and workplaces. With medical advances, life expectancy between 1870 and 1970 grew from 45 to 72 years. The Rise and Fall of American Growth provides an in-depth account of this momentous era.

isaiah says:"The book is a great review of how we got to where we are today"

The Only Game in Town: Central Banks, Instability, and Avoiding the Next Collapse

Dr. Mohamed A. El-Erian, one of the world's most influential economic thinkers and the author of When Markets Collide, has written a road map to what lies ahead and the decisions we must make now to stave off the next global economic and financial crisis. Our current economic path is coming to an end. The signposts are all around us: sluggish growth, rising inequality, stubbornly high pockets of unemployment, and jittery financial markets, to name a few. Soon we will reach a fork in the road.

A Fighting Chance

As a child in small-town Oklahoma, Elizabeth Warren yearned to go to college and then become an elementary school teacher - an ambitious goal, given her family’s modest means. Early marriage and motherhood seemed to put even that dream out of reach, but 15 years later she was a distinguished law professor with a deep understanding of why people go bankrupt. Then came the phone call that changed her life: could she come to Washington, DC, to help advise Congress on rewriting the bankruptcy laws?

The Wealth of Nations

The foundation for all modern economic thought and political economy, The Wealth of Nations is the magnum opus of Scottish economist Adam Smith, who introduces the world to the very idea of economics and capitalism in the modern sense of the words.

Warren Buffett's Ground Rules: Words of Wisdom from the Partnership Letters of the World's Greatest Investor

Compiled for the first time, and with Buffett's permission, these letters spotlight his contrarian diversification strategy, his almost religious celebration of compounding interest, his preference for conservative rather than conventional decision making, and his goal and tactics for bettering market results by at least 10 percent annually. Demonstrating Buffett's intellectual rigor, they provide a framework to the craft of investing that had not existed before.

The Road to Serfdom

Originally published in 1944, The Road to Serfdom has profoundly influenced many of the world's great leaders, from Orwell and Churchill in the mid-'40s, to Reagan and Thatcher in the '80s. The book offers persuasive warnings against the dangers of central planning, along with what Orwell described as "an eloquent defense of laissez-faire capitalism".

The End of Average: How We Succeed in a World That Values Sameness

Are you above average? Is your child an A student? Is your employee an introvert or an extrovert? Every day we are measured against the yardstick of averages, judged according to how close we come to it or how far we deviate from it. The assumption that metrics comparing us to an average—like GPAs, personality test results, and performance review ratings—reveal something meaningful about our potential is so ingrained in our consciousness that we don't even question it. That assumption, says Harvard's Todd Rose, is spectacularly—and scientifically—wrong.

23 Things They Don't Tell You about Capitalism

If you've wondered how we did not see the economic collapse coming, Ha-Joon Chang knows the answer: We didn't ask what they didn't tell us about capitalism. This is a lighthearted book with a serious purpose: to question the assumptions behind the dogma and sheer hype that the dominant school of neoliberal economists-the apostles of the freemarket-have spun since the Age of Reagan.

Capitalism and Freedom

Milton Friedman argues that the appropriate role of competitive capitalism occurs when the majority of our economic activity flows through private enterprise within a free-market environment. This is unequivocally the most effective device for achieving economic freedom, as well as the necessary condition in which political freedom can be attained. Friedman's arguments are positively bold, enlightening, and impacting. Among the specific topics he addresses are "The Control of Money", "Fiscal Policy", "Capitalism and Discrimination", and "Social Welfare Measures".

The Globalization Paradox: Democracy and the Future of the World Economy

In this eloquent challenge to the reigning wisdom on globalization, Dani Rodrik reminds us of the importance of the nation-state, arguing forcefully that when the social arrangements of democracies inevitably clash with the international demands of globalization, national priorities should take precedence. Combining history with insight, humor with good-natured critique, Rodrik’s case for a customizable globalization supported by a light frame of international rules shows the way to a balanced prosperity as we confront today’s global challenges in trade, finance, and labor markets.

Publisher's Summary

The Great Recession that began in 2007 is now more than four years old - and counting. Some 24 million Americans are unemployed or underemployed, and at recent rates of job creation we won’t be back to normal levels of employment until late this decade. This is a tragedy. Do we have to accept it?

"No!" is the resounding answer given by Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman in this call to arms. We have seen this situation before and we know how to fix it; all we lack is the political will to take action. Krugman walks us through the financial crisis that triggered the greatest downturn since the Great Depression and outlines the efforts that have been made thus far.

The way forward is clear: Our priority must be to get ourselves back on the path to growth; every day that we lag behind normal production levels only adds to the astronomical economic loss of this depression. What we need for a rapid, powerful recovery is precisely what we've needed in crises past - a burst of government spending to jump-start the economy. We owe it not only to the unemployed, but to everyone affected by this tragedy to end this depression now.

I was quite impressed with this book. I did not agree with everything single thing the author suggests, but the author seems to take great care to both give clear evidence for his position and (which is quite rare) presents and refutes non-straw man arguments against his positions. Krugman does a great job of explaining economic issues with clarity and energy. Having studied the issues I did not learn a lot from this book, but I would recommend it to anyone who wants to better understand the current economic crisis and what could be done about it. I only wish the book was longer and more detailed. This book, in combination with The Big Short, puts this downturn into a clear context regarding what happened and why recovery has been so slow to come.

I recommend looking at the available pdf carefully before listening and referring to the charts as necessary. The narration was excellent making the detailed material actually fun to listen to.

The premise of this book is that government spending on an astronomical scale is the only thing that'll be able to repair our economy and that national foreign debt doesn't matter as long as we inflate our currency at a higher rate than the interest on the debt. Seems destructive and shortsighted to me.

That said, the book is well written, I just happen to disagree with it. His commentary on the Euro was actually pretty interesting, but ultimately I don't agree with his hypothesis.

In this short book Paul Krugman argues for Keynesian fiscal stimulus as the way out of our economic mess. The current troubles, he says, resulted from a banking crisis that was precipitated as New Deal-era controls on financial recklessness were dismantled. The resulting collapse in demand left the economy chronically depressed, with an intractable overhang of private debt. The solution has been known by the economics profession ever since the triumph of that massive program of federal deficit spending known as WWII, and is there for the taking, right now. The only question is whether we will do what is necessary.

Much of the book is devoted to pushing back against conservative economic dogma, and there are many I-told-you-so moments, as we revisit predictions of right-wing pundits that have not aged well. Remember when interest rates skyrocketed as bond investors lost faith in our national solvency? No? How about our Weimar-style hyperinflation? But while the author is plenty scornful of conservatives, he is also critical of the Obama administration for bungling the politics. By accepting a stimulus package that its own economic team knew would be insufficient without even arguing for more; by indulging in happy talk about “green shoots” and a “summer of recovery” when the economy was still depressed; by “pivoting” to the deficit when the deficit was the least of our worries—the administration brought discredit on its own efforts, accepted the framing of the opposition, and made policies that were correct in direction, if not in scale, seem like failures. So says Krugman.

All of this will be recognizable to his fans, along with many familiar turns of phrase: the shadow banks; the liquidity trap; the zero lower bound; the confidence fairy; the bond vigilantes; and the conventional wisdom of Very Serious People (properly attributed). For those who already read Krugman’s Times columns and nod along, the book provides more thorough presentation of his views (with charts!). But it should be especially valuable for those who are not yet persuaded, because he doesn't merely assert his points, he tries to prove them. He lays out his reasoning clearly in a readable, lucid style, with very little technical jargon. He supports his arguments with historical and contemporary examples from the real world, and occasional references to professional literature. He acknowledges his opponents and takes on their actual arguments, without caricature. He believes in evidence and produces it. He doesn’t pound the table. I find him completely convincing, but whatever your views, I think you will give him credit for making his case.

One quibble: I’m not sure that the audiobook is an ideal format for this kind of presentation. Although it’s a terrific read, the book could also be useful as a reference, since so many of its subjects are issues in the daily news. But it’s not easy to locate particular passages or topics when the book is an audio file.

I learned many things from reading Krugman's new book. 3 of which I will share:

1. That I like Paul Krugman's books better than I like his NYT's column.

2. That a high unemployment, stratified and slow-growing economy is most likely our "new normal."

3. That we need to have a serious (and hopefully informed) discussion in this country about Keynesian economics.

On the first point, I think that Paul Krugman does better with a book length format than the near sound-bite space available in a column. Krugman is clearly livid that the the Obama administration failed to push forward a stimulus plan that he considers anywhere near large enough to bring down high unemployment, but his arguments in End This Depression Now! come across as more balanced and measured than his NYT's writing. The long form of a book allows Krugman the space to develop his arguments and to support his points with evidence and historical examples. While the book contains plenty of politics and descriptions of the failings of politicians (of both parties), it is more of an economic than a political treatise. I always felt that Krugman was on surer ground when explaining economic principles rather than political motivations, a belief that reading End This Depression Now! only reinforces.

Should you read this book? If you are already predisposed to the core Keynesian belief that government should have a role in stimulating demand (by spending) during a recession (low consumer/business spending and idle economic capacity) then reading this book will only strengthen this belief. Getting a good grasp on the fundamental economic arguments (both for and against) for Keynesian type stimulus is a worthwhile activity for anyone interested in the workings of the economy.

But what if you are of a more conservative bent, outside of Krugman's usual readership? For you I have an even greater hope that you will read End This Depression Now! so that we can go to coffee (I'm buying) and we can discuss what you make of Krugman's arguments. I found Krugman to be persuasive, and I'd like to hear your arguments in response.

Comparing fundamentalist belief about depression economics with reality. Since 2009 austerity advocates have predicted runaway inflation by 2010, 2011, and certainly by 2012. Where is it it? They have been dead wrong yet still in denial about what will end the slump that started with the 2008 financial meltdown. The charts, the facts, the figures are here. This book also gives an understanding of the Eurozone, the problem with one currency, and the failure of austerity there.

Would you try another book from Paul Krugman and/or Rob Shapiro and Paul Krugman ?

I won't. Very liberal thinker. Nothing wrong with that, but doesn't seem open to new ideas. Overly self-confident.

Would you recommend End This Depression Now! to your friends? Why or why not?

Krugman starts off making the argument that the current "depression" is a function of lack of demand. OK, maybe. But he never comes back around to defend that. Instead, he spends about half the book attempting to debunk austerity and the other half making the case for growth (fueled primarily by govt spending) to get us out of the depression. That's interesting because he never comes back to the demand problem. The US's, and much of the developed world's, problem of demand is largely rooted in demographics, a subject he almost totally ignores. I don't disagree that growth could drive the economy. But perpetual growth would require perpetual increases in demand and that simply isn't possible with our demographics. Krugman's no doubt a smart guy. I'm and MBA and I've read a lot of economics; I'm sure Krugman has forgotten more than I'll ever know, but I also read Harry Dent and he makes the case, in a non-partisan manner, that we can't fight demographics and that we should help the economy de-leverage and start again from a position of much less debt vice Krugman's idea of doubling down and taking on more debt.

What didn’t you like about Rob Shapiro and Paul Krugman ’s performance?

Shapiro read's really slow, like he's talking to a child or someone who he believes might not understand a big word. It almost feels patronizing.

Was End This Depression Now! worth the listening time?

It's a different perspective, but not a complete one.

Any additional comments?

Read Harry Dent's the Great Depression Ahead. Its not as ominous as it sounds because he also goes through ways to protect yourself.

I expected a diatribe and that is what I got, but even the there are so many unsubstantiated opinions that leaves one asking why not back up your arguments better. One recollection I have is a sentence that the European ministers increased interest rates because of an unfounded fear of inflation. Well these are smart people too. Why were they fearful? What signals were they misreading?

Also fundamentally this whole book comes down to thinking that World War II is a model for everything, and how do we know that this applies today?

Finally the reading was waaaaaayyyyyy too slow and boring and drawn out.

This book, especially towards the end, put together a well reasoned practical way to end this depression. I in general lean toward smaller governments with less spending in normal times and appreciate how the author (when not making personal attacks on Republicans) lays out the reasoning and historical examples for his policy. It's best quality is that it does not assume that there is a simple solution to a simple problem for many of our current calamities and explains the problems in depth along with a reasonable sounding solution.

My problem with this book is that in the beginning it seems to just be a I hate republicans lets bash them book. An example is that he continues the myth that rich people and corporation give all their money to Republicans, sites like opensecrets tend to show that Politian in power get the lion's share of the money.

This is a shame, because the book is really good (so if you are an open-minded Right leaner like me keep listening). This book has the best detailed explanations of the 2007/8 mortgage crisis, European debt problems, unemployment and why the Bush/Obama economic stimulus package failed out there.

Not only interesting, thought provoking and endlessly informative, this is an important book that can help shape the national debate. Today, more than any time in recent memory, the average voter and citizen needs to have a passing understanding of the economy and what makes it tick. That will drastically change the way that we talk about monetary policy and how to get people back to work. This book, more than any other I've read, accomplishes all these goals while being - surprisingly - a fun and straightforward read.

The narration is good, the logical progression of basic ideas into theory into concrete examples from the recent past makes sense and it's so relevent and timely it's almost painful. This is a great book, fun and intelligent wihtout pretension or the need to dumb things down for the reader. Also, more than being a great book, it's an important one. Please buy it. Then tell your friends about it.

It's a fascinating and accessible explanation of current economics. Given the impact of the political decisions on our lives, it's a useful read/listen to help make sense of the world.

0 of 0 people found this review helpful

Jim

London

12/23/12

Overall

"Buy this book now!"

There are some excellent books out there that explain how the current economic slump came about. The Big Short is a great example of that approach. This Time Is Different is great on how things are likely to unfold from here. Not very cheery but extremely solid in its evidence base. Paul Krugman manages to do something different in as much as he gets off the fence and tells us how to fix it. You might not agree with him but he's got an engaging style, the ability to explain complex concepts in a clear and entartaining way and a Nobel prize on his side.

1 of 2 people found this review helpful

Chris

KILMACOLM, United Kingdom

11/25/12

Overall

"Good times."

(As seen through my blurry and leaky perception...)

I really enjoyed hearing another frame from what I'm used to hearing on the British media.

He does a great job conveying the price of the government not launching a more massive intervention in the economy what was seen during the 'american reinvestment and recovery act': trillions of dollars of lost production over years, human misery and a loss of spirit (the lost generation), rusting of essential value adding public services (education and social services)...

I loved the outline of the 'fresh' and 'salt' water streams of economic thought and how their wrestling perceptions of reality are having material impacts on our society, Ideas DO matter!

So it turns out that the the federal government is paying record low interest rates?? That wealth holders want to pay the state, as inflation reduces already tiny bond interest rates, to keep their property safe? It's the same story in Britain?

These are some of the things I learned from listening to this well produced and, perhaps most importantly, enjoyable audio book.

0 of 0 people found this review helpful

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